Before endorsing the far right, he faced escalating disputes over conditions at the carmaker’s Berlin factory.

In many ways, these have been tough days for Tesla. Falling sales. Squeezed profit margins. Proposed changes in US government policy that could cost the company billions.

Sales of Tesla cars have nosedived across some of the EV manufacturer’s most valuable European markets—and experts are blaming Elon Musk. Sales in Germany, where Tesla has a factory, dropped a staggering 59 percent in January compared to the same month last year,